Riders gear-up for charity challenge

May 8 2009 by Sara Bain, Dumfries Standard Friday

ALMOST 300 cyclists descended on the ancestral home of the Duke of Buccleuch to gear-up for an annual charity ride.

Now in its fourth year, the Drumlanrig Tearfund Challenge saw the biggest number of entries ever on Saturday with cyclists coming from as far away as London to ride 84 miles through some of Britain’s most beautiful scenery.

“The event went really well on Saturday,” said organiser Rolf Buwert, “the weather was perfect, and everyone had a brilliant time.

“We do expect a few people to drop out at the last minute, but we had fewer this year, which demonstrates the riders’ determination to be at Drumlanrig and be part of the event.

“On the day, 298 riders turned up.”

The challenge, which took place on Saturday, is not a race, but a timer ride, where each rider tries to complete the course safely at a consistent speed, achieving a good personal speed.

The three course options took them through the Nith valley, Mennock, Leadhills and Elvanfoot, Dalveen, Tynron, Moniaive, Loch Urr, Dunscore and Keir Mill, where the first bicycle was invented.

There was also a gentle tea and cakes ride to Dunscore church from the castle.

All cash raised from the donations goes to Tearfund and the costs of holding the event are covered by local volunteers.

Rolf said: “We are delighted with the generosity of all the riders, who donated over £7,900 to Tearfund.

“This could be used, for example, to install 32 water pumps so that over 640 people can have safe drinking water and no longer become sick, or die of cholera.

“Scottish Water donated 400 litres of water to our riders and it would be wonderful if people in Africa, India and Nepal could get access to the same quality of safe water.

“Through the riders’ generosity, on one day, twice as many people can get that water — every single day, for years to come.”

On completion of the course, the riders received a certificate and a virtual goody bag containing a virtual T-shirt, virtual water bottle and a virtual high energy bar.

The actual items will be sent to victims of flood, famine and poverty.

“We have had a lot of emails from riders praising the event,” Rolf added.

“Some accept that it was not a race but seem to have lost the point of achieving a personal best time, such as the couple on a tandem who were half an hour behind everyone else before they got half way round the first half.

“They apologised for taking so long on the first loop saying ‘but we couldn’t rush through your beautiful landscape and felt the need to take our time to get the most from it’.

“Not quite the striving-for-gold attitude, but a wonderful attitude to have while cycling through our countryside,” Rolf laughed.

Other riders had come quite a distance:-

Another couple travelled from south east England to take part in the event for the first time.

They told Rolf: “My wife and I came up from Suffolk especially for the event and haveŠrented a cottage at Auchencairn.Š

“WeŠare taking the opportunity provided by the ride to get to know this beautiful part of Scotland.”